Weird building in Clare Hall?

snickerpuss

Hi all,

So I was perusing Google Maps, as ya do, and noticed this weird building in the cul-de-sac of Temple View Lawns in Clare Hall. It seems to be an oddly shaped, possibly old building which is fenced off. I'm totally intrigued and wondered if anyone knew what it is? I had a look on the net but can't find any reference to it.

Have attached Google Maps pics below. It kind of looks like an igloo...

arybvtcw0eolkf

Its an old ice house.. Degsy is well up on the area so maybe he'll chime in.

vicwatson

snickerpuss wrote: »

Hi all,

So I was perusing Google Maps, as ya do, and noticed this weird building in the cul-de-sac of Temple View Lawns in Clare Hall. It seems to be an oddly shaped, possibly old building which is fenced off. I'm totally intrigued and wondered if anyone knew what it is? I had a look on the net but can't find any reference to it.

Have attached Google Maps pics below. It kind of looks like an igloo...

Perhaps something to do with St.Sampsons ? not sure

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balgriffin

bassey

It's an ice house, we used to play around it when we were kids, all the lads in the estate used to think it was haunted!

neris

Was thrre not a big house on the clare hall site before the houses and shops were built?

Dancor

What's an ice house?

_blank_

Dancor wrote: »

What's an ice house?

A large fridge. In the time before electricity it would be used to keep food cold, like a fridge.

Dancor

Des wrote: »

Dancor wrote: »

What's an ice house?

A large fridge. In the time before electricity it would be used to keep food cold, like a fridge.

Cool....

fryup

Dancor wrote: »

Cool....

no, cold like a fridge

Degsy

Langston Happy Season wrote: »

Its an old ice house.. Degsy is well up on the area so maybe he'll chime in.

Fraid i dont know anything about that particular structure..i know there were several large houses in the area before it was developed: Newgrove House,Clare Hall(later Clare Manor) and Woodlands...certainly never saw the ice house when i was younger..wherabouts exactly is it?

I presume it wouldve been part of Clare Hall back in the day?

Degsy

Des wrote: »

A large fridge. In the time before electricity it would be used to keep food cold, like a fridge.

Actually des,teh ice house was to keep ice cold..the ice wouldve been taken from there to the cold room in the kitchen of the house itself.

_blank_

Degsy wrote: »

Actually des,teh ice house was to keep ice cold..the ice wouldve been taken from there to the cold room in the kitchen of the house itself.

Stop questioning a mod on thread, or I'll ban your sorry ass.

Degsy

Des wrote: »

Stop questioning a mod on thread, or I'll ban your sorry ass.

Send me to the Cooler..put me on ice...i thawed you knew better.

D

Seriously guys, everyone chill.
Its ok Des will probably get cold feet.

/gets coat.

admiralofthefleet

my mam had her wedding reception in clare manor in 1978. ill see if she has photos of the building. i believe it was destroyed by fire

_blank_

I don't recall a mention of it in Douglas Appleyard's book either, which is strange.

Degsy

There was an OS map around 1901 of the area..if the scale is large enough it will probably indicate it,on smaller maps they usually just show the shape of teh structure.

Degsy

Here's a piece on ice in olden times

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070802125441AAbIVz5

Victor

bassey wrote: »

It's an ice house

I suspect it was originally buried, as on the map here, it is shown with a dotted line. http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,721009,740304,7,9

Degsy

Victor wrote: »

I suspect it was originally buried, as on the map here, it is shown with a dotted line. http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,721009,740304,7,9

Its possible..heres a few pics of various others

Victor

sugarman wrote: »

Its not an Ice house, its a Kiln aka an oven for firing.

Even says so on OSI right here:D

Your link is to county Roscommon.

tricky D

It was an ice house originally, as indicated in the historic layers, but perhaps became a kiln later. The kiln would quite possibly have been built over it since as already mentioned ice would last longer underground, afaik, like it did in the back yard cellars of our Victorian era houses.

neris

Theres another 1 of those ice houses up in beaumont in what is now beaumont woods. Was part of the guiness estate

Degsy

tricky D wrote: »

It was an ice house originally, as indicated in the historic layers, but perhaps became a kiln later. The kiln would quite possibly have been built over it since as already mentioned ice would last longer underground, afaik, like it did in the back yard cellars of our Victorian era houses.

What kind of a kiln exactly??

snickerpuss

Thanks for the replies everybody. Delighted I'm not the only one intrigued. I must double check Green Fields Gone Forever when I get home and see if there's any mention of it.

Degsy

snickerpuss wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everybody. Delighted I'm not the only one intrigued. I must double check Green Fields Gone Forever when I get home and see if there's any mention of it.

Im pretty sure there isnt..ice houses were a generic feature of country estates..there was one in Santry demense,im pretty sure there's one in St Annes and i've definatley seen one in the grounds of Ardgillan Castle.

Edit,,

There's one in Larch Hill too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larch_Hill

The Ice-House (bunker like building) on the lower avenue was the original "refrigerator" for the old manor house. The river would have been blocked during the winter and blocks of ice cut and placed in the pit at the end of the building. Food was then stored in layers of straw, and the building sealed up. The building was accessed during summer by way of a hatch in the roof of the building.

bassey

Has anyone any pictures of the area before the estate was built? I've lived here most of me life and it was just newly built when we moved in. Would love to see what was here before the estate was built

tricky D

Degsy wrote: »

What kind of a kiln exactly??

No idea, it just says kiln on the new OSI maps. At a guess, probably crop drying, cement/lime making, wood drying, and the like.

Degsy

tricky D wrote: »

No idea, it just says kiln on the old OSI maps. At a guess, prbobaly crop drying, cement/lime making, wood drying, and the like.

Kilns usually were purpose built structures and they looked very different..usually were much bigger,associated with other buildings and had a chimney.

Victor

Degsy wrote: »

What kind of a kiln exactly??

In Ireland, most kilns would have been for lime, but in some locations for bricks or other manufacturing processes.

tricky D

Degsy wrote: »

Kilns usually were purpose built structures and they looked very different..usually were much bigger,associated with other buildings and had a chimney.

According to the historic OSI map, the ice house was beside Claregrove House and the current OSI online map says Kiln. Maybe they converted it to a kiln, maybe it had a chimney at some stage, maybe they're wrong, I dunno.

Victor

tricky D wrote: »

the current OSI online map says Kiln.

Ah, I hadn't noticed that. I would think it was a matter of mis-identification.

fryup

all this talk of icehouse reminds me of this

Lightleader78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/76712832#Comment_76712832

Yes, there was an old house, that want on fire, I think about 1976/77.

Archidub1

The NIAH has a piece on it.... I can't post links but see below

"Freestanding single-storey icehouse, built c. 1800 for Annesley Lodge (later Clare Grove), facing east, comprising round-plan ice chamber fronted by gable-fronted rectangular-plan vestibule. Rubble stone walls, with traces of earlier render corbelling to roof, cement-render to domed top, largely obscured by vegetation, having small rubble projection at east end; red brick gable to east end with soldier-coursed coping and traces of ornamental render with inlaid shell decoration to south side of gable. Round-headed doorway to gable with red brick surround having steel grating within. Ice-house set in lawn among recent houses and surrounded by steel fence.

The icehouse is the only physical remnant of Annesley Lodge, designed for Richard Annesley by John Sutherland in the 1790s, the house later being known as Clare Grove. Although heavily covered with vegetation, the structure retains its original form and character, including traces of earlier renders. It is an important reminder of the ancillary structures that supported landed estates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and also recalls the decline of landed estates around Dublin."

Archidub1

Incidentally if anyone has any pictures of Clare Grove (Annesley Lodge) or any of the other big houses in the area then i'd love to see them if anyone can send a few into the thread!!

Hodors Appletart

try looking for a copy of Green Fields Gone Forever by Douglas Appleyard, it's an excellent book about the history of Coolock and Artane